March 29, 2022 – Further to Legal Aid Alberta’s continued goals of accountability for billings, both for clients and roster, LAA roster lawyers are required to upload timesheets with any invoice charging for additional hours (Tariff 7.04 or 7.05) for all areas of law for certificates issued on or after April 1, 2022.
We’ve made it easy to submit your timesheets on Lawyer Portal.
The authorization request process for requesting additional hours is not changing. All additional hours must be approved in advance of being expended. Retroactive hours (not approved in advance of being expended) are prohibited per LAA Administrative Policy.
Requiring supporting timesheets ensures fairness and consistency in expenditure of additional hours and, importantly, ensures that Legal Aid Alberta remains accountable to our clients, our roster lawyers and our funders. This way, all lawyers are on a level playing field, living up to their timekeeping obligations per LAA Administrative Policy.
Timesheets are not required for certificates issued prior to April 1. However, Legal Aid Alberta may continue to ask for timesheets as per usual compliance procedures as we have in the past. Timesheets have always, and will continue to be, required for invoicing in high-cost cases. If you have any other questions, please get in touch.
We appreciate your continued cooperation and support of our shared goal to serve and stay accountable to our most important stakeholders – Albertans.